Tuesday 6 October 2015

UK nuclear sector ‘at risk from cyber attack’

Nuclear infrastructures in the UK are at risk from cyber attack.

That's because there are "serious deficiencies" in the nuclear supply chain due to a lack of awareness between businesses as well as the trend towards digitalisation, according to the think tank Chatham House.

Another factor is a limited collaboration with other industries or information sharing between cyber security companies.

Most nuclear plants are run on systems which were designed before cyber security was a critical consideration so are more vulnerable to being attacked, it added.

The report suggests the industry’s risk assessment can be "inadequate" so that there is often insufficient spending on cyber security.

Ross Brewer, Vice President at security intelligence company LogRhythm commented: "It is still far too common for organisations to focus on protecting the perimeter, using tools like firewalls and antivirus, but this is now proven to be ineffective.

"The answer is to take an intelligent approach to security, ensuring that all systems are continuously monitored so any type of compromise can be identified and dealt with as soon as it arises."